San Francisco Dons vs Gonzaga Bulldogs Prediction, 1/2/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: San Francisco Dons vs Gonzaga Bulldogs

Date: Saturday, January 2, 2021

Location: McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, WA

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: San Francisco (+20.5)

McCarthey Athletic Center is the site where and the Gonzaga Bulldogs (9-0) will play the San Francisco Dons (6-4) on Saturday. San Francisco opens this game as 20.5-point underdogs. The total is set at 163.

San Francisco comes into this contest with a mark of 6-4 this year. They are giving up possession 12.3 times per game and as a squad they are committing 20.9 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, San Francisco is grabbing 36.4 boards per game and has accounted for 138 assists for the season, which is 55th in D-1 in terms of passing. The Dons are shooting 37.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (117 of 312) and 70.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 76.1 points per outing (122nd in D-1) while connecting on 44.1% from the field. Defensively, the Dons are forcing their opponents into 12.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 16.4 personal fouls. The Dons defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 41.3% (229 of 554) and they relinquish 36.3 boards per game as a unit. They rank 178th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 94 surrendered so far this season. They give up 26.7% on 3-pointers and they are 144th in college hoops in points per game allowed (68.1).

The San Francisco Dons played the Grand Canyon Antelopes and went home with a win by a final score of 68-65 in their last game. San Francisco finished with a 40.4% field goal percentage (23 of 57) and made 14 of their 37 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Dons made 8 of 16 attempts for a percentage of 50.0%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 26 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 11 assists for the contest in addition to getting 6 steals and 2 rejections. With respect to defending, San Francisco let their opponent shoot 40.4% from the floor on 23 out of 57 shooting. Grand Canyon doled out 14 dimes and had 4 steals in the matchup. Furthurmore, the Antelopes totaled 29 rebounds (5 offensive, 24 defensive) and added 2 blocks. Grand Canyon ended up going 53.8% from the free throw line by converting 7 of 13 attempts. They also knocked down 2 out of their 14 attempts from 3-point range.

Khalil Shabazz is one player who was a contributor in the matchup. He totaled 22 points on 7 out of 15 shooting. He played 34 minutes and collected 5 boards. Shabazz ended up going 46.7% from the floor and also dished out 2 assists. An additional guy that was a factor in this game for the Dons was Jamaree Bouyea. He snagged 4 rebounds and earned 3 assists. He ended up shooting 50.0% from the floor for the contest by shooting 6-of-12 (17 points). When all was said and done, Bouyea was on the hardwood for 32 min.

Gonzaga has a mark of 9-0 so far this year. The Bulldogs are responsible for committing 17.2 personal fouls every game and they hit 69.6% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 21.3 times per contest (5th in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.6 times per contest. Gonzaga has totaled 866 pts so far this season (96.2 per game) and they snag 39.8 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Bulldogs are shooting 55.7% from the field, which has them ranked 21st in college hoops. The Bulldogs are ranked 242nd in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 73.6. They are forcing 16.0 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.0% from the field (195th in college basketball). The Gonzaga defense gives up 33.3% on 3-point shots (66 of 198) and opponents are connecting on 70.9% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 12.4 assists and 30.7 boards per game, which is 151st and 39th in college basketball.

The last time they took the court, the Gonzaga Bulldogs got the win with a final of 112-67 when they played the Dixie State Trailblazers. The Bulldogs snagged 29 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards totaling 37 for the matchup. They also turned away 2 attempts while recording 11 steals for the contest. The Trailblazers had 21 fouls in the game which got the Bulldogs to the free throw line for a total of 24 attempts. They were able to knock down 16 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 66.7%. Concerning shooting from 3-point land, Gonzaga converted 8 out of 23 attempts (34.8%). When the game finished, the Bulldogs went 44 for 73 from the floor which had them sitting at 60.3%. The Bulldogs permitted the Trailblazers to make 24 of 56 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 42.9% for the contest. They shot 26.7% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 4 out of 15 and ended up shooting 15 out of 22 from the charity stripe (68.2%). In relation to how they attacked the glass, Gonzaga allowed Dixie State to pull down 25 in all (5 on the offensive glass).

Corey Kispert ended up being a factor for the Bulldogs for the game. He made 10 of 16 for this game for a field goal rate of 62.5%, which got him 25 points. Kispert had 3 boards in his 23 mins and had 2 assists for the game. Another guy that was important for Gonzaga was Joel Ayayi. He ended up with 21 points in his 27 minutes on the hardwood via 8 of 9 shooting for the game. Ayayi ended the game having shot 88.9% from the floor while also earning 6 assists and 11 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take San Francisco (+20.5)

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